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Sophie's Choice by William Styron (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide
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Unlock the more straightforward side of Sophie’s Choice with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!
This engaging summary presents an analysis of Sophie’s Choice by William Styron, which follows the young and inexperienced Stingo as he meets and befriends Sophie, a Polish Catholic now living in Brooklyn, and her violent, schizophrenic lover Nathan. As Stingo grows closer to Sophie, he learns that she survived the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz, but was forced to make the terrible choice that gives the novel its title. Now, she is racked by guilt and seems unable to escape the shadow of her past, leading her to self-destruct. Sophie’s Choice is perhaps William Styron’s best-known work, and was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film starring Meryl Streep.
Find out everything you need to know about Sophie’s Choice in a fraction of the time!
This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you:
• A complete plot summary
• Character studies
• Key themes and symbols
• Questions for further reflection
Why choose BrightSummaries.com?
Available in print and digital format, our publications are designed to accompany you on your reading journey. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time.
See the very best of literature in a whole new light with BrightSummaries.com!
This engaging summary presents an analysis of Sophie’s Choice by William Styron, which follows the young and inexperienced Stingo as he meets and befriends Sophie, a Polish Catholic now living in Brooklyn, and her violent, schizophrenic lover Nathan. As Stingo grows closer to Sophie, he learns that she survived the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz, but was forced to make the terrible choice that gives the novel its title. Now, she is racked by guilt and seems unable to escape the shadow of her past, leading her to self-destruct. Sophie’s Choice is perhaps William Styron’s best-known work, and was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film starring Meryl Streep.
Find out everything you need to know about Sophie’s Choice in a fraction of the time!
This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you:
• A complete plot summary
• Character studies
• Key themes and symbols
• Questions for further reflection
Why choose BrightSummaries.com?
Available in print and digital format, our publications are designed to accompany you on your reading journey. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time.
See the very best of literature in a whole new light with BrightSummaries.com!
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Sophie's Choice by William Styron (Book Analysis) - Bright Summaries
AMERICAN NOVELIST, ESSAYIST AND MEMOIRIST
Born in Newport News, Virginia, USA in 1925.
Died in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, USA in 2006.
Notable works:
Lie Down in Darkness (1951), novel
The Confessions of Nat Turner (1967), novel
Darkness Visible (1990), memoir
William Styron was born in Newport News, Virginia in 1925. He served in the US Marines before graduating from Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. During the 1950s he was part of the community of American ex-pats in Paris that included the writers James Baldwin, Peter Mathieson and George Plimpton. The group founded the prestigious quarterly English literary magazine, The Paris Review. Styron’s first novel, Lie Down in Darkness, established him as one of America’s most promising young writers and won him the prestigious Rome Prize, which enabled him to study and write in Italy. The Confessions of Nat Turner, a fictionalised account of a historic slave rebellion in 1831, won a Pulitzer Prize, but met with controversy for its representation of black people. Styron was a passionate supporter of Civil Rights and an opponent of the war in Vietnam. In 1982 Sophie’s Choice was made into a feature film for which Meryl Streep, who played Sophie, won an Academy Award.
NOVEL
Genre: novel
Reference edition: Styron, W. (1980) Sophie’s Choice. London: Corgi.
1stedition: 1979
Themes: slavery, the Holocaust, World War II, domestic violence, guilt, mental health, suicide,
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